Catching up ....again....

Goodness! Has it been several weeks since my last post?!! This time of the year is always a busy time for me. The kiddos are back-to-school and have settled in with their newly routines. My Buddy is a senior and Sweetie Pie is in 6th grade this year. That means I will have two graduates in 9 months. I know the time will pass by soon enough.... so I am preparing myself mentally for it now. It seemed just yesterday that they were just starting Kindergarten....*sigh*


Anyway, not a whole lot of sewing being done here as my part-time job at a retail store is picking up. I'm putting in LOTS more hours there and expected that it probably will be that way until after the Holidays.


Over the summer, I signed up with the Doll Quilt Swap 7 swap. The mailing deadline was on Tuesday. Look what came in my mailbox earlier in the week....

IS IT ADORABLE OR WHAT!! :o)

... the back and goodies...

This cute little quilt is all done by hand!

All the buttonhole stitches, embroideries, and quilting were done by hand. I do a lot of handworks myself, so I know how long it must have taken. I appreciate all the time putting into it and love love this little quilt!

My partner also sent me a charming stationary set and the scraps from the quilt. Ahhh... she's been reading my blog... as she knows how much I love to make scrap quilts. You may see these in a quilt soon as I already have in mind what I want to do with them. :)

And who was my partner?

It's Jennifer at Jennifer Can Quilt!

Thank you, Jennifer!!! I do so love my little quilt and very appreciative of the time you've spent in making it. :D

Do you remember the little Zig Zag quilt top?

Here it is all done... "Tweet Tweet" is it's name.
It is on it's way to ???????? I will reveal who's my secret partner is once the quilt arrive at its destination.

I must admit that it was very difficult for me to let this one go. It's my favorite little quilt as it would be something that I would make for myself. The inspirations came from my partner's Flickr favorite photos. I found that my partner and I have very similiar likes, so this little quilt came to be.

Here is the back side. I used a the leftover zig zag blocks.

I also included a Cathedral Window pincushion and some FQs of my favorite fabrics at the moment.
I hope my partner will like what I've sent her.

It's a slow progress, but I've been working on my Aunt Millie's Garden blocks. I started the 3rd block, then found the fabrics for the 4th block when I was at the quilt shop one day. Of course, I had to start on that block. :) A peek...



Then, whenever I have a few moments, I sat down at my machine and just sewed 1-1/2" strips (mindless sewing) of Kaffe Fassett fabrics together to create this strata. Stay tuned to see what it will become....

Lastly, a cute pic of my baby girl.

Have a great weekend!

New Mysteries, BOM, and More

Only six days into 2009 and blogland is already in full swing! Here's a list of new projects that I'm considering doing this year:

1. Bonnie's New Year Mystery, Double Delight, started on Jan. 1st. Just the name alone makes me want to do this quilt. I like the colors and blocks so far (yes, I peeked!) *lol*..... but first, I have to finish Orange Crush!

2. A Tisket A Tasket 12 Months of Baskets - Anne Suton of Bunny Tales mystery BOM. Her patterns are adorable!

3. Bea's "Once Upon a Time" stitcheries BOM - This will be saved for later.

4. Rachel at p.s. I quilt, a new 2 me blog, is having a Calendar Quilt Challenge. It looks like a lot of fun and will make a great memory quilt when done.

5. This has been on my wish list since it first came out. Santa brought it at Christmas. I'm in the process of planning the fabrics. :-)

Have you seen the Whirl Into Winter Giveaway? Go check out all the blogs on the sidebar...

June Block

I almost forgot this BOM!

This is the June block, Diamond Pinwheel.

I haven't done May Hydrangea applique yet. I'm holding off for a little bit longer until there are more blocks to put the top together; then, I will needle-turned applique the flowers instead of Beth Ferrier's method of applique.

Double Pinwheels

Here's the next block of Pinwheels and Posies BOM by Beth Ferrier, Double Pinwheels. For those who don't know, my colorway is different than Beth's. I fell in love with this brown/pink fabric collection when I first saw it and had to use it.


There was a minor error in the cutting instructions, but that was easy to fix. This block sized to 8 1/2" unfinished, and I was happy that it actually came out to that exact size. I didn't have that accuracy for last month block. The only difference I did with this set of blocks was that I used sizing on the fabrics before cutting. I think that helped with piecing the block accurately.

This and That

Well... so much for my plans to sew on National Quilting Day. I didn't make it to my sewing corner once yesterday. Fortunately, I did get to play with Dolly in the morning.First, I practiced free-hand loops and stars and love how it turned out. Then, unfortunately, my attempt at baptist fans turned out miserably. I used a stencil and drew the arcs onto the muslin and tried to stitch by following the lines. Well, for the life of me, whether I moved fast or slow, I could not stay on the lines and get those nice smooth arcs.... Guessed I need to practice a lot lot lot LOT more. :c]

Sorry the photo is a bit washed out. This is following a panto... again, there's room for lots of improvements.

**************************************************************

And for today, while John took the kids out for some shoppings - Best Buy, Toys R Us, and Guitar Center (I opted out on this shopping trip... hee hee), I finished the March blocks on Pinwheels and Posies.


So that are two things crossed off my list. Now, I need to tackle those Dear Jane blocks... tomorrow Anina will start a new block. Yikes! I better get my rear in gear.

Pinwheels and Posies

I received my fabrics last Friday for Beth Ferrier's new block of the month. I decided not to do the same spring-like colors as her quilt because I've been wanting to do more of a brown and pink quilt. Hopefully, it will work out OK.

Here are the first sets of blocks and accent strips.

New BOM

I'm planning to do a new block of the month by Beth Ferrier called Pinwheels and Posies. The first block instructions posted today at her site. Anyone else doing this BOM?

I ordered my fabrics earlier in the week and haven't got them yet so will have to wait. :[




This collection is Emilie's Raspberry Patch from Connecting Threads. The colors are really different than Beth's spring-like blue quilt, but a brown/pink quilt has been trying to come out from me... so couldn't resisted.